Word from the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic

MgA. Martin Stropnický

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Future Forces Forum project held under my auspices exactly matches the interests of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic both in terms of its contents and focus. It is a project that offers ample opportunities for all men and women in uniform to expand their familiarity with the latest trends and development tendencies in the domain of defence and security.

The fact that the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic renders a full support to the FFF project is not by coincidence. We are committed to making sure our armed forces have all relevant policy, legal, financial and military requisites conducive to successful activities and we stand ready to do everything needed for the technology in the inventory of the Czech Armed Forces to match current demands of the global development trends. As a networking venue for military and civilian experts, Czech and foreign institutions, and national and international organisations, the FFF enables the Ministry of Defence to increase visibility of its activities and readiness to manage military as well as non-military emergency situations involving massive migration, terrorism, cyber defence, autonomous systems, protection of population and critical infrastructure.

The Czech Republic has acted on a sustained basis in support of Euro-Atlantic defence potential with specific focus on developing its specialised capabilities. We are committed to advancing the concept of European security that is largely based on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The rationale for the Czech Republic’s Atlantic orientation is deeply rooted in the historical experience of World War I and World War II as well as the present stage of development in international relations.

The key principles embodied in our approach to security are realism and transparency. A successful security policy is not conceived only with crises looming – it is a long-term and continuous process with many constantly scrutinised variables. Most diverse challenges and risks we are facing will continue to claim a comprehensive approach and international cooperation already when preventing them. What we witness is a dynamic development of defence concepts, which would nevertheless be hardly feasible without an effective and efficient cooperation in foreign, security and economic policy.

Besides political and diplomatic instruments, military capabilities will nevertheless remain one of the key factors in successful crisis management. Defence and security will continue to be based on building and development of defence capabilities with the support of defence and security industry, whose capacity and potential must be subject to our permanent attention. The Future Forces Forum project therefore addresses armed forces and security services as well as security community comprising the government, science and research institutions, the academia and industries engaging in projects of public interest. Current status and development goals of the Czech Armed Forces will be shown in their entirety to the domestic and international defence and security community.

I am confident the twelfth edition of the Future Forces project, with its venue again in our capital, will follow on the successful outcomes of previous meetings and will offer much valuable information and contacts to all involved. In a comprehensively conceived program, the FFF will showcase current and future defence and security trends, and pave the way to new prospects for trade as well as mutual understanding.